


Fragmentation 0.6

by Eden (kurokimio)



Series: Fragmentation [6]
Category: The Matrix (Movies), The Matrix Online, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - The Matrix Fusion, Angst, Angst and Feels, Depression, Heavy Angst, Other, References to Depression, Science Fiction, The Matrix References, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:06:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24051805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kurokimio/pseuds/Eden
Summary: How does one measure freedom? Are our choices truly our own, or are they part of a preset design outside of our control? We all have a question burning inside of us, though few speak it out. It is the question that drives us forward, seeking purpose in our lives. What isThe Matrix?
Series: Fragmentation [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1692055





	Fragmentation 0.6

Jungkook shoved the blankets off of him, rolling out of bed with a grunt. As he sleepily rubbed at his eyes with one hand, he used the other to blindly grope around on the floor for a pair of pants. Grabbing the flannel pajama bottoms, he hopped on one foot as he slid one leg into them while pivoting on one heel to get into the other. Like a delirious dancer, he spun around until Jungkook perfectly landed ass first into his computer chair. 

It didn’t matter that the girl he’d just fucked out of her mind was passed out in his bed. He didn’t care that she was spiraling down an ecstasy-laden highway in her dreams. Jungkook didn’t remember her name and he honestly couldn’t have cared about what it was, either. Why should it matter when she wasn’t going to stick around when the morning came? She’d leave Jungkook once she was satisfied with everything she’d gotten. 

She was just like the rest of them; no different than the others.

Another nameless and faceless individual in a sea of nameless and faceless individuals that forgot him just as easily as he forgot them.

Shifting the mouse with his pinkie, the monitor to his computer flickered to life - chasing the spiral fractal screensaver from view. The brightness from the screen caused him to squint slightly and he fumbled around on the desk for his glasses. The fringe of his hair tickled his forehead, making it itch, and he absently rubbed at his face before sliding his glasses onto his face. 

Leaning his neck slightly, he popped and stretched the stiffness from it. Pulling up a browser, he activated his console command and quickly activated his ghost hack. It would take him about ten minutes to pick back up on the trail he was on previously, but at least Jungkook managed to figure out all the shortcuts now. Tracing _his_ footsteps wouldn’t be as hard as it used to be. Not like it was a year ago.

“Frost,” he murmured, waiting for the encryption to fully settle before his fingers flew across his keyboard, “I’ve almost got you…”

_But what am I gonna do when I finally **find you**?_

It was a question Jungkook often asked himself, unsure of what the answer would have been and if he even really wanted to know. 

At first, the days bled on and it was just something to pass the time; to give meaning to his seemingly monotonous existence. 

School.

Part-time job.

Party.

Home.

Rinse and repeat.

Something always felt _off_ about his life. Jungkook blamed it on teenage hormones and falling into a hole that belonged to an angst-filled emo subculture that he _thought_ he wanted to be a part of. For a time, he was. The acquaintances he met and the people that he was introduced to seemed genuine. For a time, Jungkook felt like he found a sense of belonging.

Drugs and booze and rebellion coursed through his veins - shredding through his blood like the best kind of high. He joined up with a group that believed they were meant to serve a higher purpose. Jungkook wanted to think that maybe he’d found a place with a few more answers regarding the “meaning” to his existence. He’d been alone for so long that there was an opportunity for him to obtain that which he so desperately was seeking. It wouldn’t have been illogical for him to cling to that feeling with everything that he had so he didn’t fall into an empty pit of wastefulness.

Three months slid by faster than he could process it. Jungkook received a message in an encrypted email. It was one sentence. A question.

_When you look in the mirror, who is staring back at you?_

At first, Jungkook thought it was a prank; some twisted internet joke from some hacker he’d pissed off. But the question lingered in the back of his mind. It was a seed that was now planted, growing and taking root. Like the itch that yearned to be scratched but your arm just wasn’t long enough to reach. It was a question, a splinter, that very nearly drove Jungkook mad.

What was the answer? Was there an answer?

Jungkook continued the monotony of his day-to-day life, wondering if he would ever be able to catch up to Frost. His cryptic question festered like an infected wound, yearning for healing, but only Jungkook could solve this internal dilemma. Chasing after Frost would do nothing because somewhere deep inside, he already knew that Frost wouldn’t tell him the answer. 

Only Jungkook had the answer to the question. No one else.

The months continued to slide by, the seasons changing with the times. Jungkook, alone, often found himself staring listlessly out of his bedroom window. The world seemed so desaturated. When had everything lost its lustre? When did the rain pouring from the skies start looking like black tar tinted with green? Like an oil slick abandoned in a construction zone - lying there without purpose.

He was getting no closer to finding out the truth. He wasn’t able to find the answer to the question that Frost asked him. It frustrated Jungkook to no end. How was he supposed to know? Of course the person staring back at him was himself! Who else would it be? It was the same dark eyes, the same unkempt fringe and lightly tanned skin, the same beauty mark on his chin and below his bottom lip. 

_It can only be me,_ he thought as he stepped out of the shower, looking at his steamed up reflection in the mirror, _the person staring back at me...is me…_

Drying his hair, he slumped into his chair and lit a cigarette - inhaling the smoke and exhaling it out across the computer screen. His fingers slowly began to type, searching out for something. His ghost hack was always present, allowing him a chance to bring up various articles in the darker parts of the net. Most people traversed this forbidden area of the internet because it gave people a sort of adrenaline kick; the thrill of the chase. Some made illegal deals, indulged in illegal gambling, and even went so far as to hire someone to “clean up” some mess in their lives.

Jungkook merely sought out information.

He was getting closer. He could feel it. Was it because he finally found the answer? Or was it something else?

Again, the months continued to press on. When there wasn’t rain, there was snow. The frost collecting on his window may have been the signal that he was waiting for. The time must have been right. 

It was another lonely night filled with emptiness. He perched himself up on his windowsill, smoking a cigarette as another nameless girl moaned out her pleasure on his bed. Another one he could say he’d taken advantage of, even though she believed she was the one doing the taking. Confidence was a hell of a drug and she seemed to be teeming with it. Like he could fault her for such a thing.

As he stared mindlessly out across the snow-covered sidewalk below his apartment complex, he watched more of the frost collect itself on the glass. Jungkook didn’t think much of it as his breath blew across the window. But then something changed, causing him to drop the cigarette into the tray by his feet. 

_You are still in a cage, Miles…_

Something heavy banged against the door to his apartment, startling him to his feet. Jungkook’s heart drummed heavily, causing his breathing to puff out in short bursts. Not wasting a single moment, he grabbed his coat and jumped into a pair of sneakers. Thank God he was still wearing his jeans, though he would regret the cold soon for not bothering to put a shirt on. There wasn’t any time and somehow Jungkook knew that. Danger hungrily clawed at the other side of his door and he didn’t have time to question whether he would be able to face it when it finally burst through.

Jungkook slid the window open, shivering at the cold wind that whipped clean through him. Snow covered his eyelashes, forcing him to squint. He tumbled out of the window just seconds before the door splintered open from it being forced open. Jungkook landed on the fire escape, rattling snow off the bars, and he quickly descended. There was urgency in his steps and he didn’t bother with the last stairwell, choosing to hop over the railing. 

His feet landed on top of the large metal dumpster below, the force of the landing causing his legs to tremble. Jungkook pressed forward, rolling off it and crashing to the ground. As he looked up, he saw a man wearing sunglasses and dressed in a suit peering down at him. This wasn’t good and he knew it. Jungkook scrambled to his feet and took off in a dead run down the alley. As he reached the street, there was the sound of squealing tires as a motorcycle pulled up right beside him, causing Jungkook to jump to the side.

A woman dressed in a silverish gray windsuit peered back at him. Her eyes were dark, her skin a soft mocha, and her head of curly hair peeked out from beneath the hood of her jacket. She revved the engine to life, glancing at him. “Get on,” she barked.

Jungkook knew the level of danger he was in and he could sense he was safer with this stranger than what was pursuing him on his heels. He quickly hopped onto the back, wrapped his arms around her waist, and she gunned it down the street. The world of neon zipped by in a blur and Jungkook could barely keep his eyes open. Tears leaked from them as the cold air cut across his skin.

“Where are we going?” he yelled over the roar of the city and the wind whipping around his ears.

“Shut-up, Kid,” she hollered back, weaving in and out from between other vehicles, “before you bite your tongue.”

Well, he certainly couldn’t argue with that. So, instead, he closed his eyes and gripped onto his forearm resting against her stomach. 

* * *

“Wake up, Miles.”

Jungkook groaned, lifting his head up sleepily as he took in the world around him. He slowly fisted one of his eyes, attempting to rid it of the haze of sleep that was still trying to fog up his mind. How long had he been asleep? Or, more importantly, how long had they been stationary?

The first thing he noticed was the feeling of warmth. He quickly deduced they were no longer outside. But when had he been transported from outside in the first place?

The light in the room was dim, which he was thankful for. He wasn’t sure if he could handle any bright lights or weird experimentation on himself after just waking up. As he sat up from the couch, he looked around and saw that there was a large glass of water set on a table in front of him. Past the glass and the table sat two individuals in two separate wingback chairs. One was the woman who rescued him, the other was an Asian man with dark, crimped hair. They both looked at him pointedly, one of them steepling his fingers as he rested his elbows on the arms of the chair.

“What the hell is going on?”

“There isn’t much time, Miles, so we’re going to do this quickly.” said the man, his face devoid of any emotion. “You know who I am, don’t you?”

Did he? Jungkook swallowed the lump in his throat. And why did he keep calling him by that--?

His eyes widened. “...Frost.” Jungkook leaned forward on the couch. “You’re Frost!”

“Bingo. Gold star for you.” Frost sighed, casting a sidelong glance toward the woman in the other chair. “So now we’re going to give you the choice that I never had.”

The woman rolled her eyes. “Oh God, not this again.”

Frost’s expression darkened. “Animus, you said I could do this my way, so let me.” 

“Fine.” The woman called “Animus” looked at Jungkook, holding her right fist to him. When she opened it, there sat a blue pill in the center of her palm. “If you take this, you’ll never see us again. You won’t recognize us even if we were to pass you on the street. You get to remain in this life of monotony, but you’ll no longer agonize over what your purpose is in this world.”

Jungkook blinked. How could she have known that? How could she _have known_ that he was searching so desperately for the meaning of his existence? His eyes slowly shifted over to where Frost sat. Had he told her?

Frost held his own fist out, opening it and showing a red pill situated on his palm. Jungkook stared at it for a long time, hearing the rate of his heart escalate against his ear canals. “If you take this, you’ll be able to come with us. You’ll find out the truth and you can finally discover what your purpose is.”

He didn’t hesitate. Reaching for the pill in Frost’s hand, he grabbed it and the glass of water. Popping the pill into his mouth, he swallowed it in a single gulp - washing it down with the water. Suddenly, other people began walking inside as Animus began hooking Jungkook up to a few heart monitoring pads connected to an array of machinery that he managed to miss spying when he’d first woken up.

“W-What’s happening?” he asked, looking to Frost for guidance.

Animus stroked her fingers through his fringe, smirking as she walked away. Frost approached him, his expression stoic but his eyes were just a bit more gentle than earlier. 

“You need to breathe, Miles.” There was a distinct beeping sound off to the right as everything rippled around him. Why did everything look so fuzzy? “We’re almost there.”

“Almost where?!”

Animus pulled out a cell phone, dialed a number and held it up to her ear. “I need a location, Spectre. Agents will be all over this place in five minutes.”

Jungkook’s heart froze. He didn’t know what that meant, but he had a feeling that it meant something dangerous. Were those men who barreled through his apartment those so-called “Agents”? He tried to stand, but Frost immediately pushed him back down into the seat. 

“Frost, what is going on!?” The world was starting to grow a little bit more fuzzy as his heart rate increased, causing him to hyperventilate. “What’s happening to me?!”

“You made the choice, Miles. Now you have to live with it.” Frost sighed, his brows furrowing slightly. “I’ll be waiting for you on the other side.”

And when the white noise fully enveloped his surroundings, Jungkook felt the floor open up beneath him as the darkness swallowed him whole. He tried to scream, but it sounded hollow in his ears. Gravity pushed his stomach all the way up to his chest, causing tears to stream from his eyes. He was afraid, but something told him that he wouldn’t be alone when he finally stopped falling.

In a flash, everything began to grow dark around the corners of his eyes. The walls were covered in strings of green code against a black background. It flickered like this for a few seconds, chasing away the fear that was attempting to suffocate Jungkook. Wonder replaced it, his arm reaching out to try and touch it.

Darkness spread like an oil spill.

_“Welcome to the Real World.”_


End file.
